Pakistan girl dies after suitor sets her on fire

LAHORE, PAKISTAN – A teenage girl died in Pakistan after being doused in gasoline and set alight by a man who wanted to marry her but whose proposal had been rejected, police said Sunday.

It was the second brutal killing in Pakistan’s Punjab province within days, following that of a 17-year-old girl and her husband who were murdered by a group of relatives for marrying against their wishes.

The latest incident took place Saturday in a suburb of Toba Tek Singh, a town 100 km from Lahore.

Sidra Shaukat, 18, was at home without her parents when 22-year-old Fayyaz Aslam entered her house, doused her with gasoline and set her alight, Mohammad Akram, a police official said.

Aslam has been arrested and a case opened against him.

“The boy loved her and had also sent a proposal to marry her, but that was rejected by her family,” Akram said.

“He used to harass my daughter — yesterday he came in the afternoon and threatened dire consequences after we asked him to avoid coming again,” Ali said.

Another teenager, Maafia Bibi, 17, and her 31-year-old husband, Muhammad Sajjad, were murdered by Bibi’s father, her two uncles, grandfather and mother last Thursday night for marrying against their wishes in Daska town.